Martin Swapan Pandey

When the system develops rust, police can see even dead men running

The dead are thought to be free from mortal matters. But are they? Consider Amin Uddin Mollah. The Gazipur man has long since died, on January 25, 2021, to be precise, and yet he “took part” in attacking police personnel with a bomb on the night of October 28, 2023

4m ago

Jute Workers: No pay scale in 9 years, no pay for months

On September 7, 2015, the cabinet approved the eighth national pay scale effective from July that year, and it has been implemented in al-most all government offices and corporations.

4y ago

Serving time even after amnesty

An elderly man has been rotting in prison for nine years even after getting presidential general amnesty.

5y ago

Out of watch with legal shield

Almost every time any government agency tried to ensure accountability and transparency of the duty-free liquor trade, it found itself in a legal limbo. Over the last two decades, diplomatic bonded warehouses, who import duty-free liquor for diplomats and foreigners, filed writ after writ with the High Court challenging the legality of the government action.

5y ago

GIVEN BY GHOSTS

Officially, most bars and social clubs neither import nor purchase alcohol yet they log huge sales; restrictive law, high import tariff, bureaucratic nightmare encouraging smuggling; govt loses big, earning almost nothing out of this trade.

5y ago

JUTE DAY TODAY: Reality vs labour law

Every time he extends his hands to seek alms, Sohrab Hossain, 63, looks embarrassed. Begging has never been his livelihood; it is now.

6y ago

Rohingya children face harsh reality

When much of the camp around her is still fast asleep, Radia, 12, wakes up at 5:00am and quickly buries herself in her Quran study. Throughout the day, she spends as much time as she can -- eight to ten hours daily -- memorising the Arabic texts.

6y ago

Padma Bridge 'Graft Conspiracy': Flimsy evidence, flawed probe

The Canadian police investigation in the Padma bridge corruption conspiracy case was essentially flawed and the allegations were based on nothing more than “gossip, speculation and rumour”.

7y ago

September 5, 2016

Bangladesh on track

In its fight against neglected tropical diseases (NTD), Bangladesh remains on track in terms of treatment and elimination of Kala-azar and lymphatic filariasis, but it remains a potentially risk country for leprosy in the 11 nations of WHO South-East Asia region.

September 1, 2016

The strange case of JnU

For over a decade now, there have been class boycotts, exam cancellations, cases and counter cases, and even violence on the streets, but none of these has solved the accommodation problem of Jagannath University students.

August 24, 2016

Where are they now?

Panna Akter remembers only one date of her life. She can't recall the date of her birth or marriage, and she isn't sure on which dates her two sons aged around five and six were born. “These dates are written in a diary,” she says, and springs from her seat to bring it.

September 13, 2015

Still a long way to go before stubbing it out

Successes are many. But Bangladesh still struggles in its fight against tobacco with at least 156 people dying and another 1,095 becoming disabled due to smoking in the country every day. Tax increase and other government interventions to cut tobacco consumption seem fruitless, as production, export, import and consumption of cigarette and smokeless tobacco are on the rise.

September 7, 2015

How safe are your antibiotics?

"When I woke up just after dawn on September 28, 1928, I certainly didn't plan to revolutionise all medicine by discovering the world's first antibiotic, or bacteria killer,” Sir Alexander Fleming would later say famously, “But I suppose that was exactly what I did.”

September 6, 2015